What are my upgrade options from Adam T5V

[BigNewbie]

Hey everyone!

This is my first post here, so glad to meet y'all.
About 2 years ago I got myself into the speakers world with a pair of Adam Audio T5Vs. My choice was based on the plethora of positive reviews on these speakers.
They indeed did not disappoint, really balanced set with quite a bit of low end, but a bit too bright for my preference. Luckily the Low Pass high frequency filter did the job for me.

I'm using the speakers in a ~15m2 room @ ~1M listening distance. The main use case for the speakers are casual music listening, gaming, youtube, etc... so 100% enjoyment, 0% music production.
They are hooked unbalanced(RCA) currently, as I'm running them from my Fiio K7 as a DAC set on the preamp output for volume control. I know that a balanced setup with an audio interface is preferred, but I'm really happy with the setup as is. In the context of an upgrade, I probably will do the shenanigans and switch to balanced, no worries(this upgrade will not be included in the speaker budget).

Lately, I've been feeling the itch to upgrade. I have some limitations with the setup because I live in an apartment. The maximum distance I can place the T5Vs from the wall is 30cm with their depth... don't know if it's enough with the back ported Adams + the left speaker port points to a corner and I can't change that unfortunately, again space constraints. Also the size of the speakers matters, especially width as I won't have enough space on my desk including my 32" monitor. I'd say I have a maximum of 25cm available width for each speaker. I'm assuming a 6-6.5" speaker would be on the upper end of what I can fit.

A sub is completely out of the question, don't have the space for one... I'll need something with pretty decent low end to compensate for it.
My maximum budget is 1000 euros(I live in Europe obviously).

Do you guys have any upgrade suggestions or should I just stick with what I have currently?

 

[staticV3]

Hi @BigNewbie! Welcome to ASR.

Here are the monitors that I'd shortlist:

Model	LFE (-3dB) [Hz]​	Preference Score​	Price (Pair) [€]​	Review​
Focal Alpha 65 Evo	42.5​	4.0​	640​	ASR​
Kali LP-6v2	42.5​	5.7​	420​	EAC​
Kali IN-8v2	45.4​	5.2​	780​	EAC​
Kali IN-5	45.4​	5.2​	560​	EAC​

Technically, other 8" monitors like the T8V, 308P MKII, and LP-8v2 would also fit your 25cm width contraint, but being 2-way, I'm not sure they're a smart choice for 1m listening distance.

The IN-8v2 being 3-way, is the exception.

 

[BigNewbie]

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Hmm, here's some conclusions I've reached looking over your recommendations:

• Focal Alpha 65 Evo - these were actually on top of my list before, but diving deeper and deeper into reviews swayed me to move away from them. There's quite a huge peak from the measurement at 14-15K + the overall treble seems quite hot. I've also heard that they sound a bit unnatural in the mids(guitars especially from sound demos), seems like they have some boost there as well. I know that they can be eq-ed, but I do not have much experience doing it
• Kali LP-6V2 - to me they look like more of a side grade to the Adams, not really an upgrade, but maybe I'm wrong?
• Between the IN-8V2 and IN-5 I'd probably go towards the 5, as the IN8 are quite huge. From all your suggestions I think the IN-5 fits my bill the best.

Also, don't hesitate to recommend something more expensive. I'm fine with speakers that go a bit over 1000 euros, if they are really worth it.

 

[thewas]

At 1 meter listening distance I agree that a coaxial design like the IN-5 is a very good choice.

 

[staticV3]

Kali LP-6V2 - to me they look like more of a side grade to the Adams, not really an upgrade, but maybe I'm wrong?

The LP-6v2 will play a good chunk deeper, and without the treble emphasis that the T5V has:

Also, don't hesitate to recommend something more expensive. I'm fine with speakers that go a bit over 1000 euros, if they are really worth it.

Another monitor that I'm definitely curious about is the Presonus Eris Pro 6/Pro 8. It's certainly got a unique driver arrangement:


And, according to Presonus, it'll play down to 35Hz, so is definitely a candidate for full-range(ish), nearfield monitors .

Unfortunately, no measurements exist as of yet, so it is a wild card.

 

[BigNewbie]

Oh yeah, the Presonus Eris Pro 6 definitely looks interesting. They are also using Class AB amplifiers, nice.
I find it odd that they are not specifying any range on their claimed 35-20k frequency response. With the Adam they claim 45Hz with -6 db, so the range would be more like 55Hz on the low end. If the Presonus is indeed flat until 35, that's mighty impressive, but as you said a frequency response graph(at least) would've helped.

Anyways, thank you for the suggestion. I'll definitely add this to my list, as I'm not in a hurry to upgrade, I can definitely wait for some review/impressions on it.

 

[Penelinfi]

You could also use a DSP unit or on PC to help with bass or any frequency really.

 

[kemmler3D]

I'm fine with speakers that go a bit over 1000 euros, if they are really worth it.

Thomann sometimes has good deals on the Genelec 8030c which would probably fit your use case pretty well. 1m is considered about the minimum distance for those, though.

That said, I don't think they reach quite as deep as the Kali stuff, so despite being held in high regard, they might not be as good in your situation.

The Neumann KH80 is also just about in your price range, and would help you with the space saving issue, they're pretty little.

 

[Rick63]

I don’t know why Dynaudio doesn't get much love here, but I've had my BM5 MKIII monitors for 5 months and couldn't be happier. Great sound, great build, very LOW HISS.

I understand the newer LYD 5 has been measured, and if I had another pair of monitors I'd love to send one of mine to Amir for measuring. The LYD 5 has a 5" woofer but mine have 7" (for the same price), and with a lot of music in my 11'x14' room I don't need/use my sub. As a bonus the BM5 MKIII has a nice vinyl veneer on 5 of 6 sides, making them more like regular hi-fi speakers, and could help with silly things like WAF.

 

[BigNewbie]

Thank you for the suggestion @Rick63!
I see that they have the bass reflex port at the rear. Do you think that 30cm of clearance from the back wall would be enough for these? If so, these will go on my list as well.

 

[Rick63]

Thank you for the suggestion @Rick63!
I see that they have the bass reflex port at the rear. Do you think that 30cm of clearance from the back wall would be enough for these? If so, these will go on my list as well.

I can't really say for sure. I am lucky enough to be able to have mine 28" from the back wall.

 

[AnalogSteph]

I see that they have the bass reflex port at the rear. Do you think that 30cm of clearance from the back wall would be enough for these?

That's plenty. The rule of thumb is a minimum of 5 cm for the port to "breathe" properly.

Dynaudio make good drivers, their speaker designs tend to be a bit stuck in the past though, despite relatively high prices.

I can't really say for sure. I am lucky enough to be able to have mine 28" from the back wall.

That seems a bit much altogether. Genelec recommends avoiding >60 cm (>24").

Monitor Placement - Genelec.com

To create the ideal listening experience, several aspects need to be taken into account when placing the monitors within the listening space. First, you need to identify the listening area within the space and consider where the listener will be placed in relation to the space as well as the...

www.genelec.com

 

[Ellebob]

30cm is plenty of clearance. 10cm is fine. Also, if you use a sub and crossover at 80hz or higher the port won't be used and it could even go closer.

 

[ehabheikal]

neumann kh80 sounds amazing and measures it too. It is small and gives more bass than its size should. The are bland looking but the beauty of the sound offsets the bland looks.

 

[BigNewbie]

Saw some measurements of the KH80 and indeed they are essentially ruler flat. Though the 4" mid/bass driver seems quite small and it doesn't look that they can go that low.

A better match for my case would've been the KH120 A, but they are out of my budget... my only option to get these would be the used market where I can get them just shy of 1k.